


Signed, Sealed, Delivered

by MissJanjie



Category: RuPaul's Drag Race RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/F, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Friends to Lovers, Lesbian AU, Pen Pals, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-24
Updated: 2020-11-03
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:33:40
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 20,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24360643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissJanjie/pseuds/MissJanjie
Summary: Jan is in love with her French pen pal, Nicky. Her roommate, Crystal, is in love with her best friend, Gigi. A (perhaps ill-thought out) plan emerges: give Nicky a reason to visit by inviting her to Crystal and Gigi's wedding. With a month to pull the scheme together, no one knows how this will end up.
Relationships: Gigi Goode/Crystal Methyd, Jan Sport/Crystal Methyd, Nicky Doll/Jan Sport
Comments: 107
Kudos: 149





	1. Chapter 1

“Mail call!” Crystal called out, even though it was only her and Jan in the apartment. She sorted the pile out between the two of them, ending up with two slightly messy stacks. “Looks like you got an international package!”

That brought Jan barreling out of her room, nearly slipping on the rug on her way in. She grabbed onto the counter to support herself, taking a gasp of air before standing upright. “Oh yay!” She grabbed the package with the enthusiasm of a kid on Christmas morning and took it back to her room along with the rest of her pile, not bothering to close the door behind her.

Crystal chuckled, looking over to see her cat perched on the couch, staring into Jan’s bedroom with something of a perplexed expression. “It’s nothing for you, Tic. But maybe she’ll let you play in the box,” she mused before her gaze drifted back to her pile of mail, sifting through what inevitably turned out to be nothing but junk. With nothing else of her immediate interest, she wandered into her roommate’s room, sitting on the bed while Jan was at her desk. “What’d you get?” 

Jan carefully opened the box, gliding the box cutter down the tape seams so she didn’t have to rip and yank and risk tearing anything inside. She took the neatly folded letter out first, holding it to her face and taking a deep inhale. The scent of patchouli and vanilla wafted into her nose and made her smile. It was the smell she most associated with Nicky, every package and letter she sent came laced with the aroma of her perfume. 

“ _Bonjour, ma petite poupée_ ,” she started to read, ignoring the way Crystal started to laugh at her butchering of the French phrases. “I hope spring is as beautiful there as it is here. I have sent you a box of macarons—I enjoy them year-round, but my mother always loved to bake them the most this time of year. I wanted to send you some of hers, but hopefully bakery ones will suffice. I’d love it if you FaceTime or Skype me when you get them, I want to see your live reaction, and I sent you enough to share with Crystal, so be nice. Until then, _câlins et bisous_ , Nicky.” 

Jan smiled broadly as she finished reading the letter, noticing the lipstick kiss print that Nicky signed off every letter with, and gently set it aside. “Okay, it’s like nine at night where she is, she’ll still be up,” she said as she took the pastel box tied neatly with a white lace bow out of the package. “Oh look, this is so cute.” She took out another piece of paper where Nicky had hand-drawn each macaron and wrote the flavor next to it, making a color-coded guide. “Isn’t she so sweet and thoughtful?”

“She told you to share, so yes.” Crystal chuckled, running her hand through her hair to look presentable while Jan called Nicky on Skype.

Nicky answered the call right away. “Hi Jan! Hi Crystal!” She greeted them with energy even though she was dressed for bedtime, wearing a black tank top and white cotton shorts (the latter not being visible in the frame). Her hair was damp, air-drying, and draped over her desk chair. “Did you get my mail?” 

Jan nodded, holding the box up for her to see. “Just did. Thank you so much, Nicks. That’s so sweet of you.”

“Of course, I’m still making my way through the gift basket you sent for my birthday. I have opinions on all the different Oreo flavors.” Nicky giggled. They had gotten into a discussion about all the different flavors of the cookie, and she had become obsessed with the idea of trying the variety. So, when her birthday rolled around, Jan had painstakingly arranged a cookie bouquet (along with a few other treats) with as many flavors as she could find. 

In the year they’d been communicating, Nicky had both come to expect Jan to go the extra mile and would still be surprised every time. The university course that had brought them together through its pen pal program certainly didn’t require an exchange of presents, but it started with Jan not being to help herself and (unbeknownst to Nicky) progressed into an ever-present desire to impress her. 

“We can get to that next, I’m really excited to try these. Which one is your favorite?” Jan asked as she took the bow off the box without untying it and opened it up. “Oooh, it still smells fresh-baked.”

Nicky grinned as she watched her, opening up a bottle of rosé and pouring herself a glass. “I am partial to the red velvet and the apricot.” 

Jan licked her lips. “You know I love red velvet.” She plucked the deep red cookie from the box before handing it to Crystal, who was making grabby-hands at it. She waited for her friend to choose and set the box down on her desk. “On three.” She counted down, then took a bite. “Holy shit.” She covered her mouth, not wanting to talk with her mouth full. “Nicks, these are delicious. You’re gonna have to send these on the regular.” 

Crystal was enjoying herself just as much. “Is there a word for like, food horny? You know, like it tastes so good, I’m kind of turned on?”

Nicky snorted and Jan looked down and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Just say you like it, Crystal.” 

“I do,” she confirmed, then looked down at her phone. “Anyway, gotta go. Bye Nicky, thanks for the cookies!” She waved at the screen before darting right out of the room. 

Jan chuckled, knowing exactly what propelled Crystal out of the room so quickly and shouted “Tell Gigi I said hi!” after her. Then she faced forward again, her attention effortlessly returned to Nicky. “Anyway, how have you been?”  
“No complainings,” Nicky hummed, aimlessly strumming her fingers against her glass. “Did you get around to listening to that study playlist I sent you?”

“Oh my god yeah, I forgot to say anything because I kept listening to it after I was done studying and fell asleep,” Jan admitted with a laugh. “You have impeccable taste.”

She twirled her slowly drying hair around her manicured finger. “Tell me something I do not know, darling.” She winked.

Jan’s breath hitched in her throat and she covered it with a cough. Nicky exuded a seductive beauty so effortlessly and it didn’t take much for Jan to get flustered. If their friendship wasn’t exclusively long distance, her crush would have been impossible for Nicky or anyone else to not pick up on. Hell, Crystal only knew because she had been aching for the release of gushing about her feelings and her roommate lent a willing ear. “Last time I did that, we ended up talking about juice boxes for an hour,” she retorted once her body had unclenched. 

Nicky chuckled softly at the memory. It was so easy for them to go off on tangents about the smallest things. It was probably her favorite part of her conversations with Jan, everything flowed so easily, awkward silence simply didn’t exist between them. “That is true,” she conceded. “But I’ve got to go eat dinner. We’ll talk tomorrow, yes?”

“Go eat.” She never quite grasped how Nicky always ate dinner so late at night, but she had all but memorized her schedule by now. “ _Au revoir_ ,” she cooed, just because she knew it would make her laugh, and waved as she ended the call.

### 

When Crystal got the text ‘come hang out, im done with class,’ she was out the door before she even sent ‘ok.’ Gigi was a junior while she and Jan were seniors, but all of them going to the same university had their schedules aligning relatively often. But she and Jan were living off-campus, so she didn’t want to waste any time on getting to her. 

“Hey.” Gigi smiled, greeting her best friend with a hug. “Come on, we’re going on a coffee run,” she said, leading the way. Her direct nature was something Crystal had appreciated—she didn’t ask questions, she made statements, and it came off as harsh to some, but Crystal was terrible at making daily decisions, so she was happy to leave it in her hands. 

“Sounds good. You should come over soon, Jan got these amazing French cookies from Nicky. I think she’ll let us steal some,” Crystal mused, linking their arms as they walked. 

“Cool.” She nodded. “Has Jan told Nicky she’s in love with her yet?” It had come up in conversation in the past, leading to Crystal giving the entire backstory of Jan and Nicky’s relationship. Luckily, Jan hadn’t held it against her and could live with one more person knowing the truth.

Crystal laughed softly and shook her head. “Nope. But, you know, you can’t push someone to admit how they feel if they aren’t ready.” Her tone was a bit strained in the remark, looking straight ahead as she spoke. 

But Gigi didn’t notice the shift in her voice anyway. “That’s stupid,” she said flatly. “They’re like, four thousand miles apart, what’s the worst that could happen?”

“Feelings are feelings.” She shrugged as they entered the café. Of course, she could relate to what Jan was going through, but as far as she was concerned, her situation was worse. A pen pal could be out of sight and out of mind, she reasoned. But having a crush on your best friend made day-to-day life excruciating. She was constantly torn between the desire to distance herself so her emotions didn’t overwhelm, and the powerful urge to spend as much time and be as physically close to Gigi as possible. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the latter would always win. “So, how’s your final project going?”

Gigi let out an exasperated groan. “God, I’m killing myself making a dress for the wedding I’ll never have,” she lamented. “I never want to see white lace again once I’m done with it.”

Crystal winced, averting her gaze. “You don’t think you’ll ever get married?”

“Not the takeaway here, Crys,” she rolled her eyes, but there was still fondness in her expression. “Listen, I’ve made it this far in life without a relationship, maybe that’s just my destiny. I’ll just be far too busy taking over the fashion industry to worry about it.”

It wasn’t a personal rejection, but it was painfully difficult for Crystal not to take it as one. Her heart ached and her chest felt heavy with a sudden sadness, coupled with her active efforts not to let it show. “No, yeah, I get it.”

Gigi rubbed her arm gently. “Don’t let my cynicism ruin that hopeless romantic in you. It gives me hope in this cold, dark world.” She looked into her eyes, silently offering the apology she was just a little too proud to verbalize. 

Crystal lightened back up, though she was embarrassed that Gigi had such a hold on her emotions without even realizing it. “I’ll do my best.”

### 

Crystal returned to the apartment just as the sun was setting. Coffee had turned to dinner and time had just slipped away from her. But when she got inside, she went right over to knock on Jan’s door, bouncing on the balls of her feet. 

“Come in!”

“Jan, I had an idea!” Crystal let herself in and sat at the desk, as Jan was now in bed with her laptop. 

Jan closed the laptop and set it aside. “I’m scared already,” she joked. 

“No, no, no, I’m totally serious, and it’s a good idea,” Crystal insisted, shifting to sit cross-legged on the chair. “You and Nicky are like, a million miles apart and that really sucks, right?”

“Yes, thank you for reminding me.”

Crystal waved the comment off and continued. “So here’s the plan—you tell her there’s a big event that you’re going to this summer and you want her to come to visit. Dunno what the event would be, but we can worry about it later.”

The brunette tilted her head to the side. “Like graduation?”

“That’s not enough time. It has to be something that’ll happen in like, a month or something,” she explained. “But you guys will just be so excited to be together that you’ll forget about the event entirely, problem solved.” 

Jan stared blankly at her friend, wondering if she had become delirious from too many all-nighters. But then she shrugged, what did she have to lose? “I’ll talk to her about it in the morning, then. It couldn’t hurt to bring up…”

“That’s the spirit!” Crystal clapped her hands together. “Let me know how it goes!” And with that, she left the room with a spring in her step. 

And Jan did sleep on it, weighing out the pros and cons of creating an elaborate ruse just to get the girl she was pining after to travel overseas. It wasn’t that they hadn’t talked about visiting each other, but they could never ‘justify’ it, there was always something else they needed to focus on, or the finances just wouldn’t allow it (she wasn’t about to ask her parents to send her to France when they were already paying her bills). The more she thought about it, the more it seemed like a decent idea. 

After breakfast and a shower, Jan called up Nicky on FaceTime. “Are you busy? I’ve gotta ask you something.” 

“You have my undivided attention,” Nicky assured. 

Jan smiled, sitting down on the couch. “So, I’ve got this big event coming up next month, and I know we haven’t been able to arrange a visit yet, but I think this would be the perfect opportunity. I really want to see you.”

Nicky tilted her head in curiosity. “I want to see you too. What is the event?” 

“A wedding,” Jan answered confidently. She had decided that it would make perfect sense for the time of year.

“I love weddings.” Nicky’s face lit up. “Whose is it?” 

Fuck. Why hadn’t she planned one step further? “It’s…” At that moment, she somehow forgot the name of everyone she had ever known for a brief moment, and she wanted to yell at Crystal for giving her this stupid idea in the first place and—

“Crystal and Gigi’s,” she blurted out. 

Nicky knew Crystal had a romantic interest in Gigi just from passing conversations, but she had never quite pieced together the nature of their relationship. She was a little surprised at how serious it apparently was, but decided there was no need to question it. “Oh, good for them. I’ll have to double-check, but I think I will be able to be your plus one.”

Jan didn’t realize she had been holding her breath until she exhaled in relief. “Great! I’m so excited, I’m sure Crystal will be thrilled to hear it.” 

“Send her my good wishes, I have to get to class, though,” Nicky replied, exchanging goodbyes before the call ended. 

“What am I gonna be thrilled to hear?” Crystal asked as she tossed her bag into her bedroom. The door was always left open so TicTac could go in and out as he pleased. She had just returned from class, dried paint splotches still staining her fingers and palms.

Jan’s face froze. Yet another issue she had not accounted for. “Nicky is going to come visit.”

Crystal beamed triumphantly, getting ready to rub her brilliance in the other girl’s face. “See? I told you it—”

“She’s visiting for your and Gigi’s wedding.” 

She blinked, looking at her incredulously. “Mine and Gigi’s what now?”

“Look, I panicked, it was the only thing I could think of. And this was your idea anyway, so if I’m going down, you’re coming to hell with me,” Jan got up as she spoke, pacing around the room as she desperately tried to figure out what to do next. “Just go with it, please.”

It had taken another moment for Crystal to fully process the information. How was she supposed to tell Gigi? What was she going to do if she couldn’t get her on board? But she didn’t want to compound Jan’s panic and make everything worse. “Well, Gigi does have a wedding dress in the works…” She looked over at her friend who was still on the verge of an anxiety attack and rushed to her side, wrapping her arms around her. “Listen, we’ll make this work. I don’t know how, but we will, I promise.”

Jan took a few deep breaths, allowing herself to be calmed down. She hugged Crystal tightly, hiding her face against her shoulder. “Where do we go from here?” Her voice couldn’t reach above a whisper. 

Crystal chewed her lip as she rubbed Jan’s back. “I guess first thing's first—I have to tell Gigi we’re getting married.”


	2. Chapter 2

Crystal had spent two days trying to figure out how to explain this new situation to Gigi. She considered testing the waters by joking about it, then thought maybe she should just rip the Band-Aid off and tell her outright. But any train of thought drove her right into a wall. And Jan wasn’t much help either. 

“Maybe you could text her,” Jan had mused offhandedly. She was trying to help as much as she could – her suggestion was made while she was sitting in front of her laptop researching what actually went into planning a wedding, method acting, if you will. They were committed to this lie now, it seemed like there was no choice but to go all in. 

“Text her?!” Crystal’s eyes were wide, she couldn’t possibly be serious. “I can’t just be like, ‘Hey Geege, Jan told Nicky we’re getting married lol T-T-Y-L and hope for the best.”

“Well, obviously not _that_ , no one says T-T-Y-L anymore.” 

“Jan!” 

Jan sighed, spinning her desk chair around to face her. “I’m sorry, but I already have a lot of ground to cover. Telling Gigi is _your_ job.”

Crystal threw her head back and whined. “But I don’t wanna.”

“Would you rather _I_ do it?”

She quickly put her hands up in surrender. “No, no, I got it,” she assured. “She’s still at the studio, I’ll just… go there and tell her when she’s finished. I’ll call you if I need backup.” 

“Get it done, sis.” Jan hummed before turning back to the screen, mumbling under her breath about how unreasonably expensive wedding bouquets are. “They’re flowers. Why would you pay that much for fucking flowers?”

And Crystal had hoped the walk she took from there to the studio would help her build her nerve, but she was hit with a new wave of anxiety the moment Gigi saw her. 

Gigi waved her over, not straying from her work station. “I’ll be about another fifteen minutes or so, but you can just hang out if you don’t mind waiting.”

“Oh, yeah, no that’s fine,” she assured, sitting at one of the empty stations. On a normal day, she would enjoy watching Gigi at work. There was something almost magical about watching someone create art they were passionate about that Crystal found absolutely entrancing. Plus, it was Gigi – she could watch her read the phone book. 

“So, what’s up with you?” Gigi asked casually, holding up two different types of lace against white fabric. 

Crystal wasn’t sure what she opened her mouth to say, but she ended up blurting out, “We need to pretend to be getting married when Nicky comes here to visit Jan.” 

That stopped Gigi in her tracks. She set the lace down and turned to face her friend. “I’m sorry, _what_?”

Crystal took a deep breath, feeling almost relieved that she had ripped the bandage off, but still worried that she wouldn’t be able to explain herself in a way that would actually get the other girl on board with this charade. “So… here’s the thing. Jan obviously really wants to see Nicky in person, but they haven’t been able to commit to a plan. So I, being the super smart person I am, suggested she tell her there’s an event coming up that she should fly out for. And… long story short that event is our wedding and now we’re along for the ride.” 

Gigi blinked, taking the time to digest the information she received. “What the fuck, Crystal?” She pressed her lips together and shook her head. “Well, when’s the ‘wedding?’” 

“In like, a month. Maybe two.” 

With her lips still in a fine line, Gigi let out a strangled noise of frustration. “In a month or two,” she repeated, squeezing her eyes shut for a moment. “You know what? Fuck it, let’s do what we have to do.” 

Crystal felt a massive weight lift from her chest and she exhaled deeply. “Really?”

“I mean, I’m never gonna let you hear the end of it, but yeah. Sure. Why not?” She shrugged. Glancing over at her dress, she decided she’d done enough work for the day. “I guess we better reconvene with Jan then.” 

As she pushed herself back to her feet, Crystal still felt a little lightheaded. Sure, she was thanking every possible deity that Gigi was on board with this half-baked scheme, but now she would have far fewer chances to suppress and ignore her feelings. “Yeah, she’ll definitely appreciate that.”

When they did return to the apartment, Jan was still on her laptop in her room, deeply immersed in her research. It took Crystal and Gigi getting right in front of her for her to even become aware of her presence. “Oh, hey guys,” she greeted, setting her laptop next to her on the bed before looking at Crystal. “Did you tell her?”

“Very subtle, Jan,” Crystal retorted flatly. “But yes, I told her.”

“When did you tell Nicky to come here?” Gigi asked.

Jan shrugged. “I didn’t give a specific date yet. So, you know, work that out amongst yourselves. Also, you guys should get registered at some stores. At least that way if someone stumbles upon it, you could get like… a toaster or something.” 

“I do love toast,” Gigi mused. “But I wanna know just how far we’re taking this. Like, are Crystal and I gonna pretend to get married? Do we break up? Or are you gonna wait til after you get Nicky in bed with you and then tell her the truth?” 

“I… haven’t actually gotten that far yet,” she admitted. “I don’t think we should stage a fake wedding, though. Because then you guys are just gonna have to keep up the act indefinitely or get a fake divorce. We’ll work it out as we keep going.”

Crystal leaned against Jan’s desk, finally coming to terms with the fact that the three of them were definitely not backing out of this, that there was no chance of just scrapping the plan and calling it a day. “So other than that, what do we need to do?” 

Jan picked her laptop back up. “We need to make a couple of invitations, I figure we could just get one or two free samples, just to send one to Nicky and keep one for our own records. Crystal needs to rent or borrow a dress, and we should probably go through the motions of planning a wedding without like, going fifty thousand dollars in debt.” 

“Rings!” Gigi suddenly exclaimed. “What are we gonna do about rings? That’s a pretty fucking important part of being engaged.”

Crystal and Jan looked at each other, both of them searching for an answer, but there was the slightest bit of amusement in their expressions when it became clear that Gigi was now taking this as seriously as they were. “I’m sure we could get some convincing fake ones online. It’s not like she’s a professional jewelry appraiser,” Jan suggested. 

“I’m _not_ wearing something that’ll turn my finger green,” Gigi warned with a grave deadpan. “I’ll see if my mom has anything we can borrow. She has a collection of vintage and like, random, unique jewelry. I’m sure she’ll let me temporarily poach something off of her.” 

Jan arched her brow. “So you’re gonna rope her into this too? Or are you gonna give her some other excuse?”

That gave Gigi pause, and she realized she was either going to bring another person into the party or dig all of them into a deeper hole. “I should probably just tell her,” she decided, the other two girls nodding in agreement. 

“I would really like to watch this conversation take place,” Crystal piped up. 

“Well, why don’t you guys do that? I’ve got a call with Nicky in ten,” Jan chimed in, looking at her phone. 

“Well, far be it for us to interrupt your sexy Skype session,” Gigi retorted with a soft laugh. “Come, Crystal,” she curled her finger, and the two of them left Jan to her own devices.

Jan waved them off before getting up to fix her hair and makeup in the mirror, then moved her laptop to her desk so she could look at the screen dead-on. When she saw Nicky calling, she beamed brightly as she answered it. “Well damn, what sort of runway are you dressed up for?”

Nicky laughed and looked down. Her hair was styled up in a bouffant and the normally straight locks were in gentle waves. Her makeup – which Jan knew she did herself – was immaculate beyond reproach. “Don’t jinx it, I had my friend take some headshots for my portfolio today. So, fingers crossed there are runways in the future.” 

“It’s basically a given, I can just tell,” Jan grinned, her elbows propped on her desk and face in her hands. The look in her eyes was full to the brim with enamored adoration; even she was surprised that Nicky hadn’t picked up on her feelings. “And then I’ll get to say I knew you way back when.” 

“Bitch please,” she scoffed. “If I ever get famous, you know I’m flying your ass out here first class. It wouldn’t be fun without my sweet Janice by my side.”

She blushed, her hands moving from her face to stroke her ponytail. Hearing Nicky call her ‘hers’ in any capacity had her heart ready to leap right out of her chest. It was times like that that made her wonder if it would’ve been that crazy for her to profess her feelings, if she was building all of this fear and anxiety over owning her feelings for nothing. It sometimes felt like a declaration of love was dancing on the tip of her tongue, threatening to slip past her lips. 

But nothing was ever enough to get her over that hurdle. Her stubborn fear of rejection outweighed even common sense. So, instead, she kept it sweet and vague. “Well, you know I’ll always be there whether you like it or not.”

“I’m offended you think there’s a chance I wouldn’t.” Nicky scoffed playfully. “Anyway, what have you been up to today?”

“Oh, just… helping the girls with planning and stuff.” It was technically true, so she counted it as one less lie she was telling her. She found that the easiest thing to do was to just keep the focus off herself until she felt more confident in this charade. “It’s just boring details really. Have you been working on learning any songs lately?”

Nicky shook her head. “Actually, I was hoping to convince you to sing for me,” she cooed, batting her lashes in an over-exaggerated manner. 

It was a look that Jan was an undeniable sucker for that look, and she was certain that Nicky had figured out that much. “I suppose I could do that. Any requests?”

Nicky tilted her head, taking a moment to think. “Can you do that one from _Grease_? The magic one?”

Jan giggled softly, knowing she meant ‘Those Magic Changes.’ The song had been buried in her repertoire for ages until she’d stumbled upon a clip of her performing it in her freshman year of college. She’d sent it to Nicky, just thinking it’d be a cute throwback of sorts, but her penpal absolutely loved it, and brought it up every time she could. She didn’t quite get it, but she was thrilled that there was something she could do that would make her so happy. “For you? Of course.” 

Once Jan found the karaoke version of the song on her phone, she played it and sang along, serenading Nicky as she’d done a number of times. While it was night time in France, it was still late afternoon for her, so she wasn’t concerned about the volume. Though, even if it had been later, she probably would have risked it – it just wouldn’t be the same if she used her ‘neighbor friendly’ voice. 

Nicky applauded cheerfully when Jan finished. Her eyes were bright and warm with the enthusiasm of a child who just heard their favorite bedtime story despite getting it every night. It simply never got old for her. “You’re going to have to sing me to sleep every night once we’re in the same time zone,” she mused. 

“You know I will,” Jan smiled softly, her mind conjuring up the image of the two of them laying in bed together, cuddled up close after a long day. Nicky would hold her in her arms while she sang to her, then fall asleep in her embrace, knowing she would sleep soundly because she got to wake up in her arms. She already knew what she smelled like, thanks to her scented letters, and longed to be able to wake up to it lingering on her skin instead of soaked into paper, she just yearned for the day where none of her senses were deprived of the other girl. 

“You’re so good to me,” she cooed.

“That’s right, now I’m going to remind you to take that makeup off.” She chuckled. “It’s like, a quarter to eleven where you are, I don’t want you falling asleep with all that on.” 

Nicky snorted softly. “There it is.” She rolled her eyes fondly, then reached across her desk. “I came prepared for this,” she explained, holding up a pack of makeup wipes. And, just to assure her she was actually following through, she took a wipe out and began cleaning off her face. 

Jan grinned triumphantly. “See? I knew I’d start to rub off on you sooner or later.” Of course, she was guilty of just as many bad habits, if not more. But that was beside the point as far as she was concerned. Either way, she watched until Nicky had finished cleaning off her face, and she almost found it unfair that someone could be even _more_ flawless underneath the makeup. 

“Okay, I’m going to get ready for bed before you lecture me about that too,” Nicky teased. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow, bye!” She blew a kiss at the screen before they ended the call. 

After the call ended, Jan closed her laptop and got up to look in the mirror. She stared at herself, silently questioning why she was like this, so hopelessly taken with someone that it clouded her judgement, that she let thoughts of her cloud both her waking thoughts and her dreams. It was as frustrating and painful as it was intoxicatingly addictive.

The only thing that pulled Jan from her train of thoughts was her phone ringing, and she nearly dropped it as she got it out from her pocket. “What’s up, Crystal? Please tell me this isn’t a crisis call.”

“No, no, everything’s fine,” Crystal quickly assured. “We’re at Gigi’s mom’s house and she invited us to stay for dinner. So I won’t be back for like… another couple hours, give or take.”

“Oh, okay, cool. I take it the ring issue was taken care of?” 

Crystal beamed, admiring the ring on her finger as if Gigi had actually proposed to her with it. “Everything’s fine on that front, trust me. I have to send you a picture of this, you’re gonna die.”

Jan laughed lightly. “I’m sure I will. Go ahead, then enjoy your dinner. Tell Mama Goode I said hi.” 

“Can do,” Crystal assured before hanging up, her eyes still trained on the ring. The ring itself was rose gold, the band carved with vine-like design. The diamond at the center was square-cut and surrounded by tiny, round diamonds. While just towing the line of being over-the-top, it had the sort of unique, quirky vibe that made it perfect for someone like her. 

“It’s like it was made for you,” Gigi had told her when she picked it out. “It’s actually kind of spooky.” She had picked out a ring for herself as well, one that had more of an antique aesthetic that she appreciated. It was gold with diamonds embedded along the band, centering an ornately-bordered radiant-cut diamond. It wasn’t as flashy as Crystal’s, but she was drawn to the details in the ring.

When they put their left hands on the table next to each other, they noted that there weren’t any significant similarities between what they’d chosen, but both of their personalities seemed properly represented. “We should have a little hand-modeling shoot for this,” Gigi mused, figuring she could ask her mom for help with that as well. They had explained their circumstances right away, and much to their relief, Gigi’s mom had found their story to be very funny and agreed to help however they needed under the condition that she could retell the tale once everything was over with. Crystal was happy to agree to these conditions, while Gigi did so more reluctantly. 

Crystal wouldn’t admit as much, but as she sat down for dinner with the Goodes, it felt all too right. Like she was just having a meal with her future wife and mother-in-law, the energy that flowed among the three of them was always so calm and natural, even-keeled and even quiet at times. It was a stark contrast from her own family dinners in both positive and negative ways. But when it came down to it, what stood out the most to her was that she felt so perfectly at home with them, she couldn’t help but wish this at least _felt_ fake. It would be easier to bear when it was all over.


	3. Chapter 3

It was well into the middle of the night when Crystal let herself into Jan’s room. She hesitated, unsure if she really needed to bother her friend with her problems. But the anxiety of being alone with her thoughts any longer won out and she gently placed her hand on Jan’s shoulder, slowly shaking her awake. 

Jan was sleeping on her side, facing away from Crystal, but she flopped onto her back as her eyes opened, though not all the way at first. “Huh?” she rubbed her eyes, though with it being completely dark and her glasses on her nightstand, she didn’t actually see anything beyond the vaguest details. What she could make out was _just_ enough for her to be reassured that she was, in fact, looking at Crystal and not a sleep paralysis demon. 

“I can’t sleep,” Crystal explained, sitting down at the edge of the bed and running a hand through her hair. She sat hunched over and looked down. “I feel like I’m freaking myself out over nothing, like I’m going crazy.”

“Oh, sweetie…” There was sympathy in Jan’s voice, and she sat up quickly, pausing only to adjust her tank top so she wasn’t still partially exposed. She shifted over in bed so Crystal could lay comfortably, waiting until her roommate was looking and gesturing for her to do so. “You’re not going crazy, okay? Tell me what’s on your mind.” 

Crystal laid down and curled up against her friend’s side. “I’m worried that something’s gonna go wrong and Gigi’s going to end up hating me, or I’m just going to fall irrevocably in love with her and she’s gonna find out and never talk to me again,” she confessed. 

Jan frowned. “Hey, you listen to me,” she said gently, brushing Crystal’s hair off of her face. “Your friendship with Gigi is incredibly strong, you guys are close. I don’t think she could ever hate you, especially over feelings you can’t control. Maybe worst case scenario, she doesn’t feel the same way. I don’t think she would just drop you like that. I don’t think that for a second.”

It did make Crystal feel a little better, because she could tell Jan meant everything she said. That was one thing she could always count on from her—sincerity. She believed it was part of why Jan was so naturally kind and thoughtful. “I hope you’re right, I just… I hate to think of who I’d be without her.” 

“You’d still be you,” Jan replied without missing a beat. “You’d still be Crystal Elizabeth Methyd, and no crush could ever change that.” 

“Thanks, Jan,” she exhaled, expression settling into a warm smile. She hugged her tightly, still staying close when she let go. “You know, maybe if this doesn’t work out, and we’re still single in ten years…” 

Jan giggled and kissed the top of her head. “We’ll elope in Vegas,” she playfully promised, nudging Crystal’s side with her knee. “Now let’s get to sleep.”

### 

Jan had raced back to the apartment after her morning class, from the outside it looked like she had an emergency to attend to. But no, it was a text from Nicky that read ‘skype me when you can, i have something to show you :),’ and she certainly couldn’t keep her waiting. 

After a quick freshen up, Jan sat in front of her laptop and called Nicky. “Hi, sweetie. What’s going on?” she asked brightly. 

Nicky seemed just as excited to hear from her. “I finally perfected a new song, and I learned it because it makes me think of you,” she explained, practically bouncing in her seat. “I’m going to start now, yes?” She waited for the go-ahead from Jan before playing the music and starting to sing. 

And Jan recognized the song instantly, “Hey There Delilah,” and she thought it was very cute. Obviously it was because she lived in New York City–there was no other explanation that she could come up with. She knew how much Nicky likes little referential things like that, how the songs she picks are always for a specific reason, and she found it so endearing. 

When the song was done, Jan applauded gleefully. She loved Nicky’s singing voice; it was softer and more subdued than her own, which she found pleasant and relaxing. “Aw, that was so sweet. And you’ve been sounding so good lately, I’m fully impressed.” 

“You’re not just saying that?” Nicky asked, grinning from ear to ear. “Because you can tell me if I need to improve on anything.”

“I’m not just saying anything, gorg,” she readily assured. “I know you can handle constructive criticism, but you totally don’t even need it. And that was _such_ a cute song choice.”

Nicky had a slightly strained look on her face, one that could’ve read ‘I have more to say’ if Jan had picked up on it. But she was able to swallow her thoughts with her penpal none the wiser. “I was hoping you would think so.”

“I swear, I’m gonna find a pretty French song and learn it for you,” Jan promised. She had mentioned it before, but had yet to actually sit down and follow through. While she could pick up an English song pretty quickly, singing in another language would take extra time and effort, which, of course, she would put in for Nicky in a heartbeat.

“I would love to see that,” she beamed, the fact that Jan would go out of her way to learn a song in a language she didn’t speak made her feel all sorts of warm and fuzzy inside. “I could give you suggestions if you want.”

Jan shook her head and waved her hands in front of her face. “No, no, no, I want it to be a surprise. I’ll just keep searching until I find the right one, it’ll come to me, and then you’ll be wooed.”

“What is ‘wooed’?”

Realizing what she had said brought a blush to Jan’s face, and she had to think fast, lest she try to explain her way out of that. “It means impressed.”

Nicky didn’t question that, just nodding along. Jan must have been used to filling in the blanks with her English, and she was always so kind about it. “I know I will be. Anyway, I have to get going, but I’ll talk to you later,” she said, and their call ended soon after.

### 

Crystal looked around as she and Gigi walked into the secondhand store. She couldn’t quite explain how, but it was just different from the ones she would frequent. It was more organized, less weird. Considering they came here with a specific purpose, it was probably for the best. They couldn’t get too distracted—they were on the hunt for something they could pass off as a wedding dress for Crystal. 

“It doesn’t have the usual thrift store smell,” Crystal observed as she looked around. 

Gigi tilted her head as her brows knitted together. “Which is…”

“Mothballs, mostly.” 

“Duly noted.” Gigi nodded, a soft laugh mixed into her words. “Hopefully you’ll be able to make do without smelling like a grandma’s attic,” she said as they walked through the store, off to the side where the nicer dresses were kept. 

Crystal looked through the racks, only to realize after sifting through prom dresses that all the wedding dresses were kept towards the other end. “Wow, these are nice.”

“You pick out whichever one you like, baby,” Gigi cooed playfully. She came around to the whole fake relationship thing quick enough, and she did get a kick out of teasing Crystal about it. “Just as long as the one you like is within the two hundred dollar budget.”

“Don’t worry, I’m a cheap date.” After about ten minutes of browsing, Crystal’s eyes locked on a dress and went wide. “That one. That has to be it,” she said, grabbing it off the rack and running into the dressing room before Gigi could even get a good look at it. She had one of the store employees lace the back up, wanting it to be a surprise for her “fiancée.”

Crystal walked back out with a broad grin on her face and rosiness in her cheeks. “Okay, what do you think?” She twirled around to show off the dress. It was elegant, yet playful - a strapless with a straight-across neckline, mermaid style with ruffles of tulle as the tail. 

Gigi’s eyes went wide and her jaw dropped. It was like the moment in a romantic comedy where the nerdy girl gets a makeover and the popular guy realizes she was the one for him all along. But it wasn’t a makeover, it was still the Crystal she knew, just in a pretty dress. And she would never consider herself shallow enough to let someone’s appearance change her perception of them, but something about the way her best friend looked in a wedding dress that fit like it was tailored to her body just made her feel _something_. “You look amazing!” 

“You really think so?” she finally stood in place after being too excited to stop twirling around. “I know I’d have to wear like, a better bra, but other than that, it’s perfect.” 

“Perfect is exactly the word I’d use,” Gigi agreed, collecting herself so she no longer felt so breathless. “Get changed and we can go pay for it,” she said as she helped Crystal off the platform that was set in front of the mirrors.

Crystal felt like she was on cloud nine as they left the store. It may not have been her actual wedding she was shopping for, but the way that dress made her feel gave her a rush of excitement either way. Sure, part of that might have been due to the fact that it allowed her to further indulge in the fantasy that she and Gigi were actually together, but she wasn’t about to let that detail ruin her mood. 

“We should have a photoshoot,” Gigi mused, already planning it out in her mind. “I have a photographer friend that owes me a favor, we could set up something cute in the park.” 

“Oh, I love that,” Crystal nodded. While yes, it would help make the fake wedding more believable, she was more interested in the idea that she would have a tangible reminder of herself and Gigi posed as an engaged couple. If nothing ever came of this, at least she would be able to look back and pretend or think about ‘what if.’ 

Gigi checked her phone. “I’ll text them later.” She shoved her hands into her pockets as they walked back towards Crystal’s apartment. “How do you think people know when they’re in love?” she asked casually, looking up at the sky. 

Crystal’s heart leapt into her throat and she swallowed thickly to push it back into place. She wanted to answer honestly, but she also didn’t want to give too good of a description and make Gigi suspicious. “I don’t think it’s the same for anyone,” she mused. “I think it’s like… You’re just hanging out with someone just like any other day, then they look at you and smile and you suddenly realize you want them more than anyone in the world.”

“Huh, that makes a lot of sense. Usually I have to get you high to get that sort of whimsy out of you,” she hummed, bumping shoulders with her. 

“What about you?” Crystal took the focus off of herself as soon as she could. “How do you think people know when they’re in love?”

Gigi pressed her lips into a fine line, wondering why she asked something she didn’t have her own answer to. “I think the world just becomes a little brighter. You know, the sun shines brighter, the flowers seem to bloom more, the air feels lighter. Like… just existing feels better because you’re in love,” she told her.

“I guess love songs make a whole lot of sense when you put it that way.” Crystal had to admit, something about Gigi’s description made her heart melt. Sure, she knew it didn’t mean Gigi felt that way at all, let alone about her. But the sentiment, the fact that Gigi didn’t look at love as cynically as she had in the past, sent a pleasant chill through her body. 

“You'd think that people would have had enough of silly love songs,” Gigi joked in an almost-singing tone, then looked at Crystal expectantly. 

And Crystal didn’t miss a beat. “I look around me and I see it isn't so,” she cooed, not attempting to sing. 

They both laughed at the sheer corniness of that, but at the same time found each other to be endearing for it.

### 

Once again, it was late at night. This time Crystal and Jan were on Crystal’s bed, as it was just a bit bigger than Jan’s (as the trade-off, Jan had the better view), sitting cross-legged with the leftover takeout they were still picking at between them. 

“Are you in love with Nicky?” Crystal asked between forkfuls of fried rice. 

Jan, on the other hand, set her fork down to think. “I don’t know,” she admitted. “I have such strong feelings for her… But to be in love with someone, I feel like, requires some sort of reciprocity, and I have no idea how she feels.” She hadn’t given too much thought into defining her feelings towards Nicky; usually, if she thought about it for too long, she would be overwhelmed with yearning and just end up feeling sad.

“What about unrequited love?”

“It’s different,” Jan shook her head. “That’s just loving someone. To be in love with someone isn’t something you can do on your own, at least in my opinion.” She paused to finish her food. “Why? Do you think you’re in love with Gigi?”

Crystal shrugged, setting the now empty containers on her end table. “Dunno, guess that’s why I asked. I think I _do_ love her in a way, I just can’t explain it, but it’s definitely why pretending to plan a wedding with her has felt like… If I could bottle this feeling and get high off of it, I’d never need weed again.”

Jan nodded as she laid down. “I think that’s sweet.” She smiled. “It’s kind of like being able to play out a fantasy, huh?”

“Maybe.” She chuckled. “Most of the fantasies I’ve had about Gigi can’t exactly be acted out in public, you know.” 

“Not with that attitude.” 

Crystal laughed and shoved Jan playfully. “Shut up!”

Jan giggled lightly, then picked her head up and dropped it on Crystal’s lap. “We’re kind of stupid, aren’t we?” She sighed.

“You’re just realizing that now? I came to terms with that years ago.” She looked down at Jan, lightly playing with her hair. “But think of it this way, our lives wouldn’t be nearly as interesting if we had a normal amount of functioning brain cells.” 

“I guess so.” Jan looked up at Crystal. “Will you teach me how to smoke? At least that way I’ll have an excuse for the lack of brain function.” 

Crystal laughed and nodded, opening her drawer to take out her pipe and stash. “Wow, I can’t believe this is driving you to drugs,” she teased, sitting Jan back upright before packing a bowl. “I’ll go first, okay? Watch me,” she said before lighting up and taking a hit. 

Jan watched attentively, making sure she mimicked her roommate’s movements to a T. So when Crystal handed her the pipe, she was able to take a hit and only coughed a little bit. “Did I do it right?” she asked, handing the pipe back and fanning the smoke away from her face. 

“Honestly, you did better than I expected. Good job,” Crystal praised, taking another hit. “Go open the window, though.” 

“Yay, you know how important doing a good job is to me.” Jan hummed as she got up and opened the window, taking a moment to look down at the city below. Maybe it was the high, but everything suddenly seemed so much more interesting. “We live in such a cool place, don’t we?”

Crystal laughed, laying back to watch her. “Some say it’s the greatest city in the world. And I only have Springfield to compare it to, so it may as well be.” 

Jan threw herself back onto the bed. “I’m sure Missouri has some redeeming qualities,” she offered. 

“I guess.” She shrugged. “But Manhattan has my two favorite girls in it, so it’ll never measure up.”

“Aw, I love how mushy you get when you’re high.” Jan hummed and poked her cheek. “Everything is gonna work out for you and Gigi, I just know it,” she added, booping her nose instead. 

Crystal set the pipe back in her drawer and pulled Jan to lay with her. “And you and Nicky will be French kissing in no time,” she promised. She looked at her friend fondly, amused at how Jan seemed to get especially touchy-feely when she got high, and she honestly needed a bit of affection after the emotional roller-coaster she had been on when it came to Gigi. If nothing else, she and Jan would come away from this with their friendship stronger than ever.


	4. Chapter 4

Crystal was excited for today; it was probably the best part of pretending to be engaged, enough to make her wonder why she hadn’t thought of this sooner. Today, she and Gigi were going wedding cake testing. They had lined up three different bakeries after finding out which ones didn’t charge for the consultation, and they had just arrived at bakery number one. 

“I’m not very picky about flavor or anything, I’ll try whatever you recommend,” Crystal was saying. “However, my wife-to-be here especially loves red velvet, but doesn’t really like chocolate, which is weird to me, but we’ll probably go with what she wants.” 

When the baker went into the kitchen, Gigi turned to Crystal with a surprised expression. “How did you know my cake preferences?”

Crystal shrugged. “You’ve mentioned it a couple of times, and I know you always get excited when they have red velvet muffins in the dining hall.” 

“Oh,” Gigi felt a fluttering in her heart that she couldn’t – or rather wouldn’t – explain. She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and looked down. “Well, you’re more observant than I give you credit for, then.” 

“I get that a lot,” she mused, then sat upright when the test slices were brought out. She tried to listen to the descriptions, but she was practically salivating and dug in as soon as she could. “Now the texture of this is really nice, I like how it brings out the subtle flavor notes.”

Gigi covered her mouth to hide a laugh. “You’ll have to excuse her, she binge-watched Cake Wars last night,” she explained, gently patting Crystal’s thigh. After that, they got through the rest of the tasting without incident, and they told the baker they’d be in touch and left with the leftovers (that they hid in Gigi’s oversized purse so they could go and do the same at the next two bakeries). 

Crystal patted her stomach in satisfaction as they made their way back to her apartment. “I can’t believe we never thought to pull a stunt like this before. It’s like telling the waiter it’s your birthday so they give you free ice cream or something,” she mused. 

“I feel kinda bad though, we should order something from those places. Just, you know, not a wedding cake,” she added. 

“Oh yeah, for sure,” Crystal readily agreed. “So, did you hear back from your friend about doing a photoshoot?” 

Gigi nodded, smiling brightly. “Yeah, thanks for reminding me, actually. Does Saturday afternoon work for you?”

She nodded. “Totally. How’s it gonna work? Like, are we gonna be in our dresses, or is it gonna be something different? I don’t know how this works.” 

“We’ll do some in the dresses, some in different outfits. It’ll give me the motivation to finish the fucking thing so I don’t try to pull an all-nighter right before it’s due,” she decided. As they kept walking, her hand kept brushing against Crystal’s, until she just caved and held her hand. It wasn’t like she hadn’t before, but it felt different this time. Holding Crystal’s hand had never made her heart skip a beat before, and she was yet to figure out how much she liked that. 

It was different for Crystal. She already knew how she felt, and maybe that made it easier for her. She could allow herself to just appreciate the small act of affection, even though she did have to look away when she started smiling too wide. She probably wouldn’t try to overanalyze it until she was alone, at least. All she could do at the moment was appreciate being close to her, as it never seemed she could get close enough. 

They’d both stopped thinking about it by the time they got home, and Crystal put the cake in the fridge, shooing away the cat at her feet. “Not a chance, Tic Tac, the vet already says you’re getting too fat.” 

“Don’t body-shame her,” Gigi playfully chastised. 

“I’m just being a concerned mother,” Crystal insisted, then looked over towards Jan’s room. She heard her voice, but couldn’t distinguish the words. “Ah, she must be working on the French song.” 

Gigi tilted her head. “I’m gonna take a shot in the dark and assume it’s for Nicky, huh?” She let out a small laugh, though not in a mean way. “She’s… really crazy about her, huh?”

Jan came out of the room before Crystal could answer. “Hey, guys. How did the cake tasting go?”

“Great, there are leftovers in the fridge if you wanna pick at them,” Crystal offered. “How’s your song coming along? What’s it called again?” 

“It’s called _Aimé_ by Loane. I haven’t looked up the English translation, I feel like that kind of ruins it, you know? But when I heard it, it just made me think of Nicky, like deep in my heart, I just know it works,” Jan explained. 

Gigi chewed on her lip, fighting back her words until she couldn’t anymore. “I’m sorry, I just don’t get it. How can you be so head over heels over someone you’ve never been in the same room with?”

Jan didn’t seem terribly bothered by this question, it wasn’t a new one to her. “She’s not written in braille, Gigi. I don’t need to touch her to know her.” 

“Oh, I’m sure you’ve got an emotional connection,” Gigi assured. “But have you even been with anyone since you guys started talking? Or are you really saving yourself for someone across the ocean? We all crave physical intimacy, you know?” 

“Are you coming onto me?” Jan asked in an attempt to deflect. She glanced over at Crystal, whose face said ‘don’t you dare.’ to which she silently conveyed ‘I would never.’

Gigi didn’t notice any of that, just laughing it off. “I’m just saying you shouldn’t deprive yourself because you’re too busy pining to get laid.” 

Jan chuckled softly. “I appreciate your concern about my sexual wellbeing, Geege. But I can take care of myself, and anyone else that comes along,” she glanced back towards the fridge. “I am gonna have my way with that leftover cake, though.”

### 

Ever since Crystal and Jan had embarked on this unusual adventure, they had gotten closer. And they needed it, considering they had both been driving themselves crazy trying to pull off this scheme while they were in the midst of taking their finals. The end was around the corner, but trying to get through the final stretch left them tense and exhausted. So when they didn’t want to bother their respective love interests, they turned to each other. 

“I keep thinking about what Gigi said,” Jan admitted as she passed the joint back to Crystal. She had never considered herself any sort of smoker, but Crystal was so comfortable with weed that it didn’t seem so scary, and it had actually become something that helped her unwind as well. 

Crystal furrowed her brows as she took a hit, letting the smoke billow out in an O shape. “What? About you not getting laid because you’re always in your feelings about Nicky?” 

“That’s one way to put it, yeah,” Jan chuckled softly, laying her head in Crystal’s lap. “Am I limiting myself just because of my feelings? It’d be different if we were in an actual relationship but… I don’t know. Have you hooked up with anyone since you realized you have a crush on Gigi?” 

Crystal had to stop and think about it. “I… guess not, actually. Maybe that’s why we’ve been so fucking weird about all of this,” she mused.

Jan propped her feet up against the wall. “You think if we found someone to have a one-night stand with, we’d be able to get through finals, graduation, and the fake wedding with our sanity intact?”

“I dunno, I’m not a doctor,” Crystal shrugged. “But I do know sex releases endorphins and shit, like, all that good energy and stuff,” she mused and passed the joint back to Jan. 

“Ugh, finding a good hookup is _so_ much _work_ ,” she whined and took a hit, then gave it back to Crystal to finish off. 

Crystal rolled her eyes affectionately as she finished it off. “I mean, it can’t be that hard for you, looking like that.” 

“Just being a lesbian makes it hard, Crystal. You know that.” Jan huffed dramatically, then looked up at her. “I think we should make out.” It was the perfect solution, wasn’t it? If it was _her_ , it wouldn’t count. 

“Do you?” Crystal wasn’t as surprised by the suggestion as she thought she’d be, nor was she terribly put off by it. She and Jan were close, and they were going through the same struggles. Maybe this was what they needed to let off some steam. “Yeah, okay, I’m into it.” 

Jan sat up, then moved onto Crystal’s lap. She rested her hands on the back of her head, fingers tangling in the mess of curly hair as their lips collided in a languid kiss. The lingering taste of pot was in their mouths, and Jan swore kissing her made her even more high. 

Crystal loved the way Jan felt on top of her. She was soft and warm and she smelled so nice. Her arms looked around Jan’s waist, holding her close as the kiss deepened, their tongues intertwining. 

“You’re a good kisser,” Jan observed when she came up for air, their foreheads still resting together. She then sat back, noticing Crystal’s grin and downcast gaze. “What?”

“Hm?” Crystal looked back up, her eyes a bit bloodshot and glossed over, but still full of the lighthearted joy that’d always been distinct to her. “Oh, I was just looking at your tits. They’re really nice,” she explained.

Jan snorted with laughter, then rested her head on Crystal’s shoulder as she giggled some more. “You’re such a perv!” 

“You can’t call me a perv,” she pouted as if she took sincere offense, “it was your idea to start making out, you can’t fault me for getting more into it, especially when you know I get hornier when I’m high,” she defended.

“Oh my god,” Jan sat back upright, shaking her head. “Sometimes I forget that there’s a horndog underneath that quirky art student facade,” she teased. 

Crystal shrugged, placing kisses up Jan’s chest and neck, then up her jaw until she lightly nipped at her earlobe. “I’m enigmatic, Jan. Get into it,” she cooed as her hands ran up and down Jan’s sides, making her tank top rise up a couple of inches, then shifted to playfully bite Jan’s bottom lip. 

“You sure are something,” Jan chuckled before connecting their lips in another kiss. “You’re lucky I’m so touch-starved,” she added as she took her top off.

Crystal’s face lit up like an excited child. “Whatever you say,” she hummed, her hands moving right to Jan’s breasts, happily groping them over the purple lace of her bra as they went right back to their deep, relaxed kissing.

Jan took Crystal’s t-shirt off next, looking down at her bare chest. “I keep forgetting that you have your nipple pierced. It’s so pretty,” she remarked, lightly pinching and teasing it, rubbing it between her fingers. She had started to zone out, and it wasn’t until Crystal started moaning that she was brought back down to earth. “Guess it makes things more intense, huh?”

“Yeah,” she exhaled, “and we’re gonna end up doing a lot more than making out if you keep that up.”

“I’m not sure if you’re aware of this, but threatening to fuck me isn’t exactly… a threat,” Jan smirked as she continued toying with her nipple and the piercing. 

Crystal pushed Jan onto the bed and pounced on top of her. It wasn’t in a dominant way, if anything, it bordered on playful. She kissed Jan heatedly, her hands haphazardly fumbling to get her bra off, smiling to herself when she finally tossed it onto the floor. She trailed her lips down Jan’s neck, starting to nip at the skin until Jan grabbed her shoulder.

“Nothing above the bust,” she murmured. 

Crystal obliged, instead of leaving a hickey on the underside of Jan’s breast, then let her tongue flick across and swirl around her nipple. She then rolled the two of them onto their sides, making it easier for her to tug off Jan’s shorts. “You have a great ass too,” she remarked, reaching her hand around and grabbing onto it. 

“You think so? I’ve actually always been jealous of yours,” Jan told Crystal as she tugged her shorts off too. “It’s so cute and perky,” she hummed, squeezing it with both hands.

“We’re clearly both super hot,” Crystal observed. “Like, I bet people would pay to watch us fuck,” she mused as she slid her hand into Jan’s panties and began circling her clit with two fingers. 

“Mhm,” Jan moaned instead of properly replying, tugging Crystal’s boyshorts down and moving her hand between her thighs to do the same. “Fuck, you’re so wet. That piercing really does make your nipple sensitive, huh?” 

Crystal grunted softly and rutted against Jan’s fingers. “You’re just jealous you have to work harder to get turned on,” she retorted as she eased a finger into her. 

“Seem to be doing just fine right now aren’t I?” Jan hummed between moans. The two of them mirrored each other’s movements, whimpering and moaning as their fingers steadily thrust into each other, thumbs rubbing uneven circles against each other’s clits. 

And then it started to turn into a competition, the two of them trying to get the other to come first. Eventually, Jan won, smirking in satisfaction as she felt her friend clench around her fingers. But she didn’t last much longer, gasping out sharply as she came. 

Once they were both spent, they lay calmly in bed, cuddled up to each other. “Do you feel any better?” Jan asked. 

“I think so, actually,” Crystal mused. “The feelings are still there, but they don’t seem so scary, you know?” 

Jan nodded. “I don’t feel so overwhelmed,” she agreed, then leaned up and kissed her cheek. “Thanks, you’re such a good friend.”

Crystal beamed and held her close. “And don’t you forget it.” 

### 

Heidi stared blankly at Jan after hearing the rundown of her situation. “So… You lied to your French not-girlfriend by inviting her to Crystal and Gigi’s wedding that isn’t real, but Crystal has a big ol’ crush on Gigi, and now the three of y’all are staging a whole ass fake wedding while you’re still taking finals?” 

“I only have one final left,” Jan defended, rubbing the back of her neck. “Also, last night Crystal and I got high and had sex.” 

She blinked slowly. “First of all, why the fuck are you telling me this?”

“Because if I told Jackie, she would keep trying to solve the problem and be all lecture-y about it. And like, I know you’re gonna judge me too, but at least I don’t feel as stupid when you do it.”

“I feel like I should be offended by that,” Heidi murmured. “Second of all, what the fuck are you gonna do when Nicky comes out here. You just gonna be like ‘sike, gotcha!’ or something?”

Jan sighed and looked down at her cup, sipping from it for a couple of moments. “I don’t know, honestly. I was thinking of telling her that Gigi and Crystal decided to postpone it because they’re too young. That makes sense, right?” 

Heidi shrugged. “Well, I don’t have any better ideas,” she admitted, then furrowed her brows. “Wait, why did you have sex with Crystal? Am I missing something here?” 

“Because we’ve both been losing sleep and getting super stressed over everything piling up, and neither of us wanted to go through the process of finding another girl to hook up with. So, we just… had each other. It’s not gonna make things weird, our friendship isn’t like that,” Jan explained as she finished her drink.

“Damn, I need to find me a friend like that,” she chuckled, finishing her drink as well. “Do I at least get an invite to the fake wedding?”

Jan laughed softly. “Yeah, you’re totally fake invited to the fake wedding.” 

Heidi beamed brightly. “Thank you. Hey, can I see a picture of your little croissant boo? I wanna see what the hell’s causing all of this fuss.” 

“Oh, yeah, here, she just sent me her new headshots,” Jan hummed, getting her phone out and pulling the pictures up before handing her phone over. 

She studied the pictures thoughtfully, nodding slowly. “Okay, yeah, I get it. I’d throw my closest friends into a whirlwind of chaos over that too,” she decided, handing the phone back to Jan. “I think you should tell her how you feel before she gets here, though.” 

Jan tilted her head as she put her phone away. “You do? Why?”

“Think about it, if she feels the same, you guys will be distracted and shacked up in your room, and maybe she’ll forget about the whole thing. And if she doesn’t, you can throw out the whole plan ‘cause it won’t matter. It’s a win-win, how has this not occurred to you?”

There was silence as Jan chewed her lip, mulling it over. “I… Yeah, I guess you have a point. I don’t know.” She exhaled deeply and looked up to the sky. “I’ll think about it.”


	5. Chapter 5

Gigi’s back arched, her eyes squeezed shut. One hand gripped her comforter while the other fisted into the other girl’s hair. “Fuck, Crystal…”

The girl suddenly stopped her steady ministrations and looked up. “Excuse me?” 

“What?” Gigi opened her eyes, only to look confused and disappointed at the sudden lack of contact.

“You just called me Crystal,” she replied, only to receive a blank expression in return. “My name is Emily.” She didn’t sound as angry as perhaps she could have. In fact, there was a hint of amusement in her voice. 

On the other hand, Gigi wanted to crawl into a hole and die. Her face had already been red, but it was burning hotter than ever. Even in the poorly-lit room, it was very clear that the girl between her legs didn’t even _resemble_ Crystal, which to her, made it even worse. “I’m so sorry, I-”

“Whatever, it’s none of my business,” Emily shrugged it off. She sat there quietly for a moment before looking back up at her. “Do you want me to continue or…”

Gigi sat up and shook her head. “I’d love to, but, um, I’ll take a raincheck,” she mumbled sheepishly as she got up to search for her clothes. She just wanted to get the hell out of there, and fast. 

“So, who _is_ Crystal?” she asked, lighting up a cigarette, “must be a real beauty, huh?”

“Crystal is my best friend,” Gigi answered with a humorless laugh as she got dressed. “And… yeah, she is. I know, what a fucking cliche, right?” she sighed. “Doesn’t help that we’re pretending to be engaged,” she added, only to quickly follow up with “don’t ask.” 

She chuckled, taking a long drag. “Don’t worry, I won’t,” she assured flatly. “But if you ask me, you should probably talk to her about this before it happens again with someone who’s gonna actually get pissed at you.”

Gigi rolled her eyes and pulled her bag over her shoulder. “Good thing I didn’t ask.”

### 

Jan had been pacing around her room nervously for the past ten minutes. While she had considered what Heidi suggested, she wasn’t ready to just dive in and confess her feelings to Nicky. Instead, she decided to ease into it with the song she’d been so diligently practicing. When she sang she wasn’t scared. She didn’t have to think, she didn’t have to fear. And with the song not being in English, she didn’t have to worry about getting hung up on words and inflictions, she could just _feel_ the music. And if nothing else, focusing on giving this her all would take her mind off of the wedding chaos. 

‘ _Hey, are you ready to call?_ ’ The text from Nicky popped up on her phone and finally got her to stand still. She took a breath, collecting herself. ‘ _Yeah, one sec :)_ ’ she sent back, then looked at herself in the mirror once more before sitting in front of her laptop and calling Nicky. 

“ _Bonne après-midi_ , my dear,” Nicky greeted cheerily. “Now, tell me what is so important. You used even more exclamation marks and emojis than usually. I was a bit concerned,” she teased. 

Jan rolled her eyes playfully. “Oh stop, I’m just excited. I have a surprise for you, I’ve been working really hard on it,” she paused, waiting for Nicky to signal for her to continue. “I learned a French song and I wanna sing it for you.” 

Nicky perked up in pleasant surprise and curiosity. “You did? But you don’t even speak French,” she furrowed her brows, “wait, do you?”

She giggled and shook her head. “No, no. But this song… I dunno, I listened to it and it made me think of you. Like, I could just feel it in my soul that it was the perfect fit,” she explained. “So, without further ado…” After clearing her throat, she started the music and began to sing. She lost herself in the music, the words she didn’t understand flowed with such ease. It wasn’t until the song ended that she was able to gauge Nicky’s reaction, and it caused her to frown a bit. “Are you okay?”

Nicky sniffled, wiping her eyes. “Yes, yes, I’m fine,” she quickly assured. She pushed her hair out of her face, blinking rapidly. “You have such a beautiful voice. It’s not even fair that you can just sing in another language so easily,” she feigned a soft laugh. 

Jan took it as nothing more than high praise, which of course, she appreciated. “Aw, thank you. And before you know it, I’ll be able to sing to you in person,” she beamed. 

“Yeah,” Nicky agreed, voice barely above a whisper. “Thank you, Jan, that was a nice surprise.”

“I’m glad you liked it! Listen, I hate to cut this short, but I promised Heidi and Jackie I’d meet them for lunch. I’ll call you later though, okay?” 

Nicky nodded, and the call ended shortly after. She sat back in her chair, putting her hand over her pounding heart. Sure, she had been aware of the budding feelings she had towards her American penpal, but it had been so easy to not focus on. They talked a few times a day for the most part, but it was otherwise up to her to distract herself, and she could do so fairly easily. But something about Jan singing _that_ song, it brought everything she had felt forward, and it hit her like a ton of bricks. 

_Oh_.

“ _Mon dieu_ ,” she muttered under her breath and stared up at the ceiling. She couldn’t help but wonder if it was better or worse to become aware of how strong her feelings were knowing she was going to see Jan in person in less than a month. On one hand, she worried she would be going in hoping for too much and would end up disappointed. On the other, she couldn’t help but think that maybe it was a sign. And you can’t just _ignore_ a sign, right?

She squeezed her eyes shut and reopened them, hoping it would somehow give her a moment of clarity. Or better yet, she would suddenly be in New York and she would see Jan and everything would be all right. But nothing came of it, and she was left to sort out her feelings on her own. 

Nicky groaned and lurched forward, then rested her head on the desk. “ _Vingt jours de plus…_ ”

### 

“Don’t you think doing an engagement photoshoot in Central Park is a little… cliché?” Gigi asked as she watched Crystal help Lemon fiddle with the lights. 

Crystal shrugged. “It’s supposed to be cliché. It’ll make it more believable. Besides, it’ll be fun.” 

“Then why are you all pouty?”

“Your dress is a lot bigger than mine and I feel outshined at my own wedding,” she replied, watching the way Gigi’s dress flowed with every move. It was truly a testament to Gigi’s designing abilities – with her dainty features and defined silhouette, she looked like a Disney princess. The more Crystal looked at her, the more she was convinced Gigi had stepped out of a cartoon and simply never told her. 

Gigi giggled, covering her mouth as she did. “You’re not gonna be outshined,” she assured. “Look at your hair, whose eyes wouldn’t go right to that?” And to be fair, Crystal’s normal mess of curls was styled with a braid going across the crown of her head, and the rest was done into a teased-out ponytail. Normally, the two of them were the same height, but with the hairdo, it appeared that Crystal had a couple of inches on her. 

Crystal tilted her head in thought. “Okay, you got me there,” she conceded. 

“You guys ready?” Lemon asked when she had everything set up to her liking. “We have like, an hour and a half, two hours in this lighting, let’s make the most of it.” 

Crystal and Gigi nodded, letting the shorter girl position them as she best saw fit. “Okay, look in love,” Lemon directed before she began snapping away. 

As it turned out, Lemon didn’t need to give them a whole lot of further instruction. The fondness in their expressions, the tenderness in their touches, it flowed with a natural ease. Some passerbys would stop and look for a moment, some even snapping a picture of their own with their phone, but the faux-couple never lost focus. It was only one instruction that caught them off guard. 

“Now kiss.”

The two of them froze, both understanding it was a perfectly logical request, but neither sure of how to approach it. What followed was a moment of awkward silence, then hesitant leaning in, and finally, their lips met in a gentle kiss. 

“Good, now hold it,” Lemon continued, unphased by their odd behavior. She snapped a few more photos before looking up from her camera. “Alright, ladies. I think we got it,” she announced. 

Crystal and Gigi lingered in the kiss for another moment before pulling back, leaving a new tension mounting between them. Neither of them could look the other in the eye, both knowing if they did, they’d start kissing again without the ability to stop. 

But Lemon didn’t feel particularly inclined to facilitate whatever the hell was going on between them. “Anyway, I’ll email you guys the pics once they’re done. I’m gonna go now, some of us have actual girlfriends to spend time with,” she said, packing up her things. “Good luck with… this,” she said, gesturing between the two of them before leaving. 

“So,” Crystal cleared her throat, “I think that went well.” 

Gigi had opened her mouth to reply when – perhaps mercifully – they were interrupted when a woman came up to them. 

The woman seemed friendly, maybe a bit tired. She was well-dressed, likely in her early thirties. “Hi, I’m so sorry to bother you,” she started, “but my daughter here wanted to meet the ‘princesses’,” she explained with a soft laugh. 

Crystal and Gigi’s gazes drifted downward to the little girl, no more than four years old, shyly holding onto her mother’s leg. Their expressions softened and just like that, all of the tension melted away. They carefully crouched down to be eye-level with the child as her mother nudged her over. “Do you want your mommy to take a picture?” Crystal suggested to the girl. 

The girl nodded eagerly, turning to look at her mom, who was already fishing through her purse for her phone. “Okay, Ayla,” her mom directed, “smile big!”

All three girls smiled brightly and Crystal and Gigi slowly got up as Ayla ran back to her mom. “Could you send that to me, actually?” Crystal asked, then gave the woman her number when she obliged. 

When the two of them were alone again, there was a brief moment of worry that the tension would build back up, but the whole incident was still providing a successful distraction. “Oh my god, this is so cute,” Crystal cooed.

Gigi rested her chin on Crystal’s shoulder to look. “Aw, yeah, that’s adorable,” she agreed, her arms absentmindedly looping around Crystal’s waist. “I didn’t know you were so good with kids,” she added. 

Crystal shrugged, having never really thought about it before. “I guess so, I was always around my cousins growing up and being one of the older girls puts you on default babysitting duty,” she explained, becoming aware of Gigi’s hold on her as she spoke and realizing there was nowhere else she’d rather be, even if it came with the stipulation of standing in the middle of Central Park in a wedding dress. 

“We should get changed,” Gigi said, though she didn’t make any immediate attempts to move from Crystal. But eventually she did let go and stand upright. “I’ll order an uber.”

### 

Back in Crystal’s bedroom, she and Gigi had long since changed out of their dresses, taken off their makeup, and let their hair flow loose and free. They lay sprawled out on Crystal’s bed, barely watching whatever was on TV. This was their normal, when they were able to turn off their brains and just enjoy each other’s company. 

At least, until Gigi broke the silence, clearing her throat first. “I think we need to work on acting like a couple.”

Crystal furrowed her brows and sat up. “What do you mean? I thought we’ve been pulling it off pretty well so far.” 

“Come on, you have to admit that kiss was pretty awkward,” she retorted.

“Okay, yeah, that’s fair,” she conceded. “So what, you think we should practice kissing? I haven’t used that line on a girl since tenth grade,” she teased. 

Gigi turned a bright red at that, though she insisted, “it’s not a line!” in a voice that was a little too strained to be convincing. “But the time until Nicky’s visit is dwindling, and this all hinges on how convincing we are as a couple. So, you know, no pressure, but…” 

“But Jan’s fate lies in our ability to tongue wrestle. Got it,” Crystal finished with a firm nod. This was what she did best – make a dumb joke to deflect from the fact that she was _dying_ to kiss her and get it right this time. “C’mon baby, kiss me like you mean it,” she said in a comically ‘sexy’ manner. 

And Gigi did, taking it as a chance at redemption. She cupped Crystal’s face and pressed a deep kiss against her lips and suddenly, all bets were off. As soon as she felt Crystal kiss back, she poured everything into the embrace. 

Crystal was fairly certain Gigi had stolen her breath in the kiss, as she found herself forgetting how to do anything but kiss back like her life depended on it. She grabbed onto Gigi’s shirt, eagerly pulling her closer until she fell back on the bed with Gigi on top of her, their legs intertwining. 

Gigi couldn’t have held back if she tried. She yanked Crystal’s hair to expose her neck, then bit down and left a hickey in the dead center of one side. It just made it more convincing if she left proof that they were in a committed, intimate relationship, of course. In fact, she left one on the other side for good measure. “God, you’re so _fucking_ beautiful,” she muttered, sitting back and straddling Crystal’s waist and gazing down at her.

Crystal was fairly certain her heart had never beaten so fast in her life. Being with Gigi was nothing like her hookup with Jan. Things were fun and slow and light with Jan, compared to how hard, fast, and passionate Gigi was. She supposed that was where the difference between a friend and lover lies – Jan was warm and comfortable, but Gigi lit a fire in her, they weren’t even undressed and she was already aching for her to fan the flames. “Please don’t stop.” 

The quiet plea was music to Gigi’s ears and nothing in the world could’ve stopped her from obliging. She tugged off her own t-shirt, now significantly less dressed than Crystal, having forgone a bra. But she made quick work of remedying that, stripping Crystal from the waist-up and placing a trail of kisses from right above her navel, all the way back up to her collarbone. “Couldn’t if I tried,” she cooed. 

“Mm…” Crystal exhaled softly, reacting to every touch with a silent cry for more. She loved the way Gigi’s lips felt against her – on her neck, on her breasts, the way her tongue swirled around her nipples and flicked against the metal of her piercing. “Fuck…”

Gigi moved back down Crystal’s body, tugging off her shorts and panties in one swift motion, then made herself comfortable between Crystal’s thighs. She had only just started when Crystal stopped her. 

“Wait, wait, I wanna get you too.”

It took Gigi a moment to understand what Crystal meant. “Oh! Okay, yeah,” she got up and repositioned herself on top, her head between Crystal’s thighs and her legs resting on either side of her head, letting Crystal shift underneath her until she was straddling her face. They both started off slow, but neither could keep the teasing pace up for long, picking up in speed and fervor. 

Gigi balanced herself with one hand, using both her tongue and the fingers of her opposite hand to fuck Crystal with a pace that bordered on erratic. Her mind was both frantic and clouded with lust and emotions she was in no position to decipher. She was only loosely aware that Crystal was struggling to keep up with her, and she didn’t care. It was _her_ so it felt _good_.

And Crystal actually liked the challenge of trying to keep up with Gigi. Her senses were in overdrive with how incredible she made her feel, and it spurred her on all the more. It did become more difficult as she neared her peak – her vision started to get hazy, her breathing more labored, and she couldn’t focus on anything else when she came with a loud groan. She took a moment to catch her breath, then readily and eagerly got Gigi off as well. 

When they were both done, Gigi pushed herself off of Crystal and lay beside her. She wrapped her arms around her, pulling her close with her arms securely around her waist. “I think we can pull off being a couple now,” she mumbled, face buried in Crystal’s hair.

“Yeah,” Crystal breathed out with a hint of a laugh, “we’re such good actresses.” And she was just glad Gigi wasn’t able to see the grin on her face, because now she couldn’t even convince herself that she wasn’t in love with Gigi.


	6. Chapter 6

Jan rubbed her eyes, trying to dislodge whatever had gotten caked in there overnight, then pushed herself out of bed and made herself walk towards the kitchen. She put on her glasses and saw Crystal cooking breakfast – so she took off her glasses and put them on again to make sure she was seeing that correctly. “You’re up bright and early,” she observed. 

“Is that weird?” Crystal asked, feigning innocence because the answer was obvious. Especially since she couldn’t look Jan in the eye and started shifting her weight from one leg to the other. That went on for about twenty seconds before she broke. “Okay, okay. It’s just… Gigi spent the night.”

That didn’t clear anything up for Jan, who waited for a further explanation. When she didn’t get one, she pointed out, “Gigi spends the night all the time, we both know she’s very comfortable with that. I mean… She practically lives here.”

She huffed because now she had to get into _specifics_. “No, but it was different this time. We… you know…” instead of outright saying it, she made a ‘v’ with her fingers and flicked her tongue between them. 

“Oh please, you can just say you fucked,” Jan said, only for it to hit her a beat later. “Oh my god, you guys fucked?” Her eyes went wide and she bounced excitedly. “Wait, wait, wait. What does that mean for you guys now? Are you gonna be a thing? Is she still here?”

Crystal blinked. “How can you breathe when you’re talking so fast?” She turned back to finish cooking, then plated the food. “She’s taking a shower… I don’t know what this means for us,” she sighed. “The whole thing started because she said we weren’t convincing when we kissed for the photos. Maybe she thought we needed to explore our physical chemistry so we can use it better.” 

Jan put her hand over her mouth and giggled. “I’m sorry, but that sounds like a line,” she told her, moving around the kitchen island to pour herself coffee. “Which, I mean, is good for you, because it means she was looking for an excuse to feel you up,” she added, bumping her hip against Crystal’s. 

“That’s what I said! But she swore we just needed to be super convincing or it’d ruin our whole plan.”

She quirked her brow and snickered. “You believed that?” 

Crystal looked down, pushing a forkful of her omelet into her mouth. “I mean… Why would she make that up? That doesn’t make any sense.” She looked back up, eyes meeting her roommate’s incredulous expression. “What?”

Jan was about to scream, her eyes ready to pop out of her head. If it was obvious to _her_ , it was damn near bewildering that Crystal couldn’t pick up on it. This wasn’t some cute, subtle flirting, like the kind they had been trying to master this whole time – this was as close to an outright declaration of affection that someone like Gigi would get. “I don’t know, Crystal,” she answered with pointed sarcasm, “lying to people we like seems to be the norm here, let’s think this through a little bit.”

Luckily for Crystal, she didn’t get a chance to think too hard. Before she could reply, Gigi exited the bathroom, a towel wrapped around her body, another wrapping up her hair. She looked at the other two girls, blissfully unaware of the bubbling tension between the two roommates. “Hi Jan,” she greeted, at least realizing she had walked in on the middle of a conversation, and added, “I’m gonna go get dressed,” before disappearing into Crystal’s bedroom.

Crystal exhaled once Gigi left and waited for her heart to return to its normal speed. She hated that even though she knew the other girl hadn’t heard anything, her mere presence made her chest tighten. Even after all that had happened the night before, she had the feeling of walking on eggshells around Gigi whenever the subject of her feelings was approached. “What am I supposed to do?”

“Not to sound like the world’s biggest hypocrite, but you could talk to her about it,” Jan suggested gently. She imagined life was a lot easier for people who weren’t afraid to say how they feel, to just open their hearts up and speak their mind without fear of repercussion. It must be nice. Completely unrealistic, but nice. 

Unsurprisingly, Crystal scoffed at the mere suggestion. “If talking about things was plausible, we wouldn’t be in this situation to begin with.”

Jan sighed and leaned against the counter. “Yeah, okay, that’s fair.” She exhaled deeply and looked out the window. “God, we’re pretty fucking useless. Almost makes it hard to believe that graduation’s at the end of the week,” she mused. “When’s your family due in?” 

“Day before the ceremony, so Friday. Means we got two whole days of peace and quiet before we have to deal with them,” Crystal explained between bites. But then she abruptly stopped, eyes going wide. “Oh fuck, what’re we gonna do about the… everything?” 

Before Jan could answer, Gigi – now fully dressed – rejoined them, naturally noticing the horror in Crystal’s expression before anything else. “What’s wrong?” 

“We failed to account for Crystal’s family flying out here in the midst of all of this,” Jan told her. “So we’re either going to have to clue them in, avoid mentioning anything entirely, or let her conservative parents think she’s about to marry a girl they’ve met… what, twice?” 

Crystal nodded to confirm Jan’s answer. “I think the second one is our best chance, probably the easiest one too.” She strummed her fingers against the plate, lips pursed and brows furrowed. “Gigi, you need to tell your mom not to say anything, they’ll still probably want to say hi to you guys.”

Gigi shrugged. “Sure, but I don’t think she’s planning on going to the ceremony, so I dunno when she’d see them anyway.”

“I’m just covering our asses!” Crystal snapped, causing both of the other girls to take a surprised, cautious step backward. She took a deep breath, squeezing her eyes shut for a moment. “Look, my parents are… They’re trying. But it’s still a work in progress. I just want everything to go as smoothly as possible.”

Jan and Gigi moved back to Crystal, gently holding her from either side. “Everything is going to be fine,” Jan said with a certainty she’d been lacking for the entirety of their plan. But it was different, avoidable, and they weren’t going to let it ruin such an important day. “We’re not gonna let anything ruin this, I promise.”

### 

Jan and Crystal, like the rest of their graduating class, were seated in alphabetical order, keeping them apart for the duration of the ceremony. They texted each other, and both Jan and Gigi made sure to reassure Crystal that there was nothing to worry about. And as they sat and listened to speech after speech, things felt increasingly calm, to the point that they were both able to walk across the stage with their heads held high. 

And when they tossed their caps in the air, they felt free. The past four years had been a tough, enduring chapter in their lives, but a fun one as well. It also helped to have one less thing on their plate with Nicky’s visit and the ‘wedding’ around the corner.

“I’m so happy for you guys!” Gigi beamed when she finally caught up with the two of them after weaving through the crowd of graduates and their families. “How do you feel?” 

“Tired,” Crystal answered. “I don’t see why they had to hold this so damn early.”

Jan frowned sympathetically. “She didn’t get a chance to get her coffee,” she clarified to Gigi. “Honestly, I’m just happy it’s all done. Gonna miss a lot of it but like… I’m not rushing back any time soon.” 

“Yeah? Not going for that MFA?” Gigi asked, absentmindedly looping her arm around Crystal’s waist. 

“Not now, at least,” she shrugged. “Gonna see how far I can get with this before I sign myself up for more school.” As she spoke, she felt her phone vibrate in her purse, then fished it out and smiled when she unlocked it. “Aw, look at this cute ‘congratulations’ gif Nicky sent me.”

Crystal’s gaze narrowed as she looked at the screen. “Congrats on your graduation, darling. I have a special present for you, but it’s a surprise. Heart, winky-kissy emoji,” she read off the screen, then looked at Jan quizzically. “What the fuck was that? Did you guys move to sexting already?” 

Despite her reddening face, Jan’s expression read just as perplexed. “Believe me, you would know if we were. I have no idea what the surprise is.” She decided to set the mystery aside for the time being. “We should get back home and throw an overnight bag together, we can check into the hotel and leave them there, then right out to dinner with our families.”

“I still can’t believe your parents booked you a night in a penthouse for graduation,” Gigi chimed in. “They don’t mind that I’m going too, right?” 

Jan shook her head. “It’s fine, you’ll just have to share a bed with Crystal… But I’m sure that won’t be an issue, right?” she did her best to fight off a smirk, but by the way, Crystal was glaring at her, she was pretty sure her efforts were not paying off.

But Gigi didn’t seem to notice either way. “Yeah, no problem here,” she answered with a casual shrug.

### 

Much to everyone’s relief, dinner with Crystal and Jan’s families went off without a hitch, and the two of them, along with Gigi, were ready to have a fun, relaxing night in the penthouse. The suite had two queen-sized beds, Jan running to claim the one closer to the window and the air conditioning. 

“Holy shit,” Crystal remarked as she looked around. “How much did this cost?”

“Dunno, my dad used his airline points to cover it,” Jan explained, then flopped down on the bed. “This is a perfect note to end our college careers on.” 

Gigi sat on the edge of the other bed. “Can we order room service?” she asked, pushing herself further onto the bed and aimlessly swinging her legs. 

Jan sat up and nodded, then got the menu from the bedside drawer. “You know, Nicky never got back to me about whatever her surprise was, I didn’t get anything in the mail.”

“And no salacious photos?” Gigi asked.

“ _No_.”

“She must have a big package for you,” Crystal mused, then laughed at her wording. She ignored Jan and Gigi rolling their eyes and moved to look at the menu, the three of them calling in an order shortly after. 

As the three of them sat on Jan’s bed, eating overpriced food and drinking wine that was probably fancy, but they wouldn’t have been able to tell the difference between that and the fifteen dollar bottles they were used to. And after a couple glasses of wine, they had become even more relaxed, enough for Crystal to admit, “Jan knows we fucked, by the way.” 

Gigi blinked, looking between Crystal and Jan with her lips pursed around the glass. “I didn’t know it was a secret,” she replied once she lowered the glass. “But why did Jan want to know?”

Crystal swallowed thickly, trying to think of a way to talk herself out of what she’d just gotten into. “Because… We’re friends? We talk to each other about this sort of thing. We’re close.”

“Very close,” Jan added under her breath, then giggled when Crystal shot her a look. 

Gigi frowned. “Okay, can I ask something that’s been bugging me for a while? Do you guys have, like, a _thing_?”

Crystal nearly choked on her drink while Jan just seemed to sit and think, then answered with “define ‘thing’.”

“Look, I know you’re in love with Nicky, I’m not saying I think you guys are gonna run off together or anything,” Gigi assured. “But… Sometimes I get the vibe that Crystal might have a crush on you.” 

While Crystal’s mouth hung open in shock and a bit of wine dribbled down her chin, Jan had burst out laughing, narrowly avoiding knocking anything over in the process. It was the type of laughter that left her out of breath and with watery eyes.

“Are you done?” Gigi asked, deadpan. “Did you get it out of your system?” 

“Sorry, sorry,” Jan panted, then turned to Crystal. “I’m sorry, sweetie, I have to tell her the truth,” and Crystal didn’t put up a fight, so she proceeded. “Okay, look, Crystal and I did have sex. Once. But she did it to take her mind off of how much she likes _you_. It wasn’t anything more than two friends getting high and helping each other out.”

It wasn’t easy to stun Gigi into silence, but Jan’s explanation seemed to do the trick. Had she had it wrong this whole time? Misread every interaction? Ignored every sign? Sure, she knew she tended to be oblivious, but this just made her feel silly. At this point, she didn’t care that Jan and Crystal had hooked up, all she was concerned with was what happened next. “Since we’re all telling the truth now… I have an embarrassing confession. The last girl I hooked up with… I, um, called her ‘Crystal’ in bed. Kinda realized I couldn’t ignore how I felt anymore.”

“If I may,” Jan chimed in. “Literally the first time I saw you guys without the engagement rings was at graduation. Maybe this was a stupid, convoluted way to figure it out, but I think you guys are supposed to be together. Now, I… suddenly have the desire to take a long bath… Bye.” She got off the bed and quickly ducked into the bathroom to give the other two the time alone they needed. 

“She’s trying her best,” Crystal remarked before turning to face Gigi. “I… that story… you weren’t just saying that to have an excuse for liking me, right?” 

Gigi smiled softly and shook her head. “Is it really that hard to believe?”

Crystal shrugged. “I guess not. The image of you saying the wrong name in bed is funny, though. Just wanted to make sure it was real.” She shifted closer to Gigi and rested her head on her shoulder. “I’m so tired of pretending, not pretending to be engaged, pretending to just be friends.”

“You’re not suggesting we get engaged for _real_ , are you?” 

She laughed, picking her head up and resting it against Gigi’s. “No, not at all. I just wanna be your girlfriend, Geege.” 

Gigi grinned broadly and pressed a kiss to Crystal’s lips. “I love how that sounds. Say it again, please.” 

And Crystal would’ve happily said it as many times as Gigi wanted, as long as she got a ‘yes’ in return. “I wanna be your girlfriend.”

“Then… You are. That’s that,” she concluded, kissing her again, this time longer and with much more emotion behind it. “If we barricade Jan in the bathroom, we could probably fuck before she breaks down the door.” 

Crystal laughed, getting up and moving back to hers and Gigi’s bed. “She wouldn’t care if she walked in on us, neither would I, honestly, but I kind of… don’t want to have sex right now. I’m all emotional and vulnerable and whatever,” she admitted as she laid on her side, opening her arms and beckoning Gigi to join her.

“Oh,” Gigi felt her heart swell with warmth. “We don’t have to at all, then,” she hummed, laying with Crystal and holding her close. She pressed gentle kisses over her face, carding her fingers through Crystal’s hair.

They cuddled in comfortable silence for about another ten minutes until they heard the bathroom door open. Jan was wrapped in a white terrycloth robe, her hair a bit damp, and let out a content sigh. She looked over at the couple and smiled fondly. “Aw, you guys are too cute!” she squealed. 

“You weren’t eavesdropping, were you?” Crystal asked.

“Nope,” Jan answered honestly. “I’ve been texting with Nicky. But it looks like you guys worked everything out.”

“We did,” Gigi confirmed, then her brows furrowed. “She’s up late, isn’t she? It’s after three in the morning in France, right?” 

Jan looked at her phone and counted to herself. “Yeah, that is late, but that’s not uncommon for her, so I didn’t ask.” She gathered up the plates and glasses, stacking it up on the tray and setting it aside. “You guys are gonna finish this bottle off with me, right?” 

Before either of them could answer, there was a knock on the door that caught them all off guard. “Wonder what else my parents have planned,” she mused, expecting some sort of additional graduation present, or maybe just an extra dessert. Either way, she opened the door with a smile, only for her jaw to go slack and practically drop to the floor. Surely she was seeing things, or maybe she was more drunk than she realized. There was no way–

“Surprise!” Nicky beamed, bouncing on the balls of her feet.


	7. Chapter 7

“Nicky!” Jan exclaimed after a moment of stunned silence. She grabbed her into a hug, needing to touch Nicky to convince herself that this was really happening. “Holy shit, I thought you weren’t coming for another couple weeks.” 

Nicky squeezed Jan tightly and let out a content hum. “I moved some things around. I just couldn’t wait to see you any longer.” 

Jan grinned from ear to ear. “God, you have no idea how happy I am to see you,” she breathed out, still in awe of the girl in front of her. She wasn’t thinking about the fake wedding anymore, or Crystal and Gigi’s new, real relationship. All that mattered was that finally, finally Nicky was here.

“If it is half as happy as I am to see you, I’m lucky,” she replied, gently pushing Jan’s hair out of her face and tucking it behind her ear. Her hand lingered, thumb stroking gently across her cheek. “ _Mon ange_ , you are even more beautiful in person,” her voice was soft, as if she were still processing it. 

“Me?” Jan scoffed, “I’m in the presence of a literal model. Come on,” she gently took Nicky’s hand. “Let me show you off to Crystal and Gigi.”

Nicky was thrilled and walked with a spring in her step as Jan led her inside. “Ah, the happy couple! _Bonjour_!”

Gigi and Crystal did their best to look like they hadn’t been trying to eavesdrop on the conversation, offering smiles and cheerful greetings. “So nice to finally meet you,” Crystal added. 

“How long are you in New York for anyway?” Jan asked as she sat with Nicky on her bed. 

Nicky’s gaze drifted to the floor as she kicked off her heels. “Longer than I expected, I’ll tell you that,” she answered, biting back a grin. “That is a conversation for later, don’t worry about it,” she added, looking back up to face Jan, resting her hand on her thigh and shifting closer. “Tonight is about you, it’s your celebration.”

Gigi tapped Crystal’s arm to get her attention. “Why don’t you and I go check out the 24-hour spa? I think they need some time alone together,” she suggested, already getting up and looking for her shoes. 

Crystal looked at her girlfriend quizzically for a moment, then nodded in understanding as she got up and followed her out. “Good for Jan, French pussy was the graduation gift she really needed,” she remarked once they were safely out of earshot.

Jan looked over a few moments later, only then realizing that her friends had left. She’d gotten a text from Crystal shortly after that simply read ‘have fun’ with a few winking emojis. “Oh my god,” she muttered under her breath with a laugh. 

“What?” Nicky asked, trying to look at the screen, but Jan set her phone face down on the nightstand. 

“Nothing, just Crystal being… Crystal,” Jan brushed it off as she scooted closer to Nicky. “More importantly, we’ve got the room to ourselves. Which is good, ‘cause I don’t wanna share your attention with anyone.” 

Nicky bit her lip and gently took Jan’s hand. “Rest assured, you have my undivided attention.” She looked at her for a moment, deciding on her next move. It was a battle of what she wanted versus playing it safe, and in the end, the former won. Her hands moved to cup Jan’s face, and she kissed her deeply, languidly, doing all she could to savor that moment. 

For a moment, Jan was too stunned to react. She thought she was dreaming, that this was too good to be true. But even her best dreams weren’t this kind to her – this was a fantasy brought to life. She kissed back, moving as close to Nicky as she could – any space between them was too much. 

“Jan, I’m in love with you,” Nicky breathed out against Jan’s lips, her fingers still tangled in her hair. 

Jan thought she was going to faint. Her head was spinning and her heart was racing, she didn’t know just how badly she longed to hear that, nor could she find the words to adequately reply. Instead, she settled on the simple truth. “I’m in love with you too. I… I have been for a while.” She looked down and swallowed thickly. “Gigi and Crystal aren’t getting married.” 

“I know.” 

“Wait… what? You do?” 

Nicky chuckled softly. “Your friend tracked me down and told me, the one that looks like a lemur. She said she knew you’d chicken out.” 

“ _Heidi_ ,” Jan groaned, hiding her head in her hands. “You’re not mad?” 

She shook her head and pulled Jan onto her lap. “No, I just think you guys are stupid,” she teased, pressing little kisses along her neck. “They’re cute together, though.” 

“They started dating like, an hour ago,” Jan admitted with a laugh. “They’re good for each other, in their own weird way,” she mused, aimlessly playing with Nicky’s hair before her tone shifted to a serious one. “But let’s get back to us, because we literally just proclaimed our love to each other and I think that takes precedent.”

“You’re right,” Nicky laughed softly. “I want to be with you, with my whole heart I do.” 

“And you don’t mind the distance?”

“The distance wouldn’t bother me, but…” Nicky’s face broke into a broad grin, “we don’t have to worry about it.”

Jan shifted to straddle Nicky’s lap, now able to look at her more directly. “We don’t?” 

“I wanted to wait until tomorrow to tell you, because this is still your day. But I wasn’t planning on dropping the ‘love’ bomb either, so here we are.” She took a deep breath, steadying herself. “I got signed by Ford Models and they’re having me relocate here and have me on a two-year contract.”

“Oh my god!” Jan squealed and tackled Nicky down on the bed. “That’s amazing! You’re gonna be a model!” She pressed kisses all over her face. “Where are you staying? You can come live with me and Crystal and probably Gigi.”

Nicky smiled, wrapping her arms around Jan’s waist. “I was hoping you’d say that, because I haven’t gotten much of that model money yet,” she laughed.

Jan rolled onto her back with Nicky now on top of her. “Now that that’s settled, can we go back to making out? I was enjoying that.”

“I thought you’d never ask,” Nicky smirked before their lips collided again. The chemistry between them was electric, sparks shooting off from a buildup of long distance and silent yearning. They craved each other more than their lungs craved air and nothing could satiate them except for _more_.

It wasn’t long before making out simply wasn’t enough. Jan and Nicky haphazardly tore off each other’s clothes and tossed them every which way. But as rushed as that was, they slowed down once they were both naked – this was the first time they were truly seeing each other’s bodies, it was a moment to savor. 

Nicky took control, pinning Jan to the bed and kissing down her neck, her collarbone and chest, she didn’t leave an inch of skin from her chin to her thighs untouched, and left a scattering of hickies in her wake. She used one hand to nudge Jan’s thighs apart, and with the other, she traced two fingers along her folds. “Oh, you’re so wet already, babygirl,” she cooed. 

“You have no idea how long I’ve wanted this,” Jan breathlessly confessed. “How many times I’ve fantasized about you.” Under any other circumstances, she would never be so bold as to outright admit that, but there wasn’t anything she could hold back from Nicky anymore. She had waited so long to have her, nothing was going to get in the way of that, nothing was going to be hidden. 

“You’ve fantasized about me?” Nicky looked up at Jan, a broad smirk on her lips. “That’s fucking hot, I would love an in-depth retelling one of these days… just not right now. You’re gonna be too busy moaning for me.” Before Jan could respond, Nicky moved her head between Jan’s thighs, her tongue lapping at and circling her clit as she eased a finger into her. 

As if on cue, Jan let out a high-pitched, gasping moan. Part of her had been just a little worried that she had hyped everything up too much in her head and it’d lead to the sex itself being disappointing, but she couldn’t have been more wrong. It didn’t take long before she simply lost control. Her body arched and writhed, desperately urging Nicky on. The way Nicky’s tongue felt against her clit, the way her fingers scissored and curled inside of her, Jan couldn’t think of a better way to describe it than utter _bliss_. 

Nicky wasn’t surprised that Jan was so vocal, or that even her most erratic movements seemed graceful. She sucked on her clit as she steadily fucked her with three fingers, relishing the wanton moans and desperate whines she elicited from Jan. And when she could tell Jan was close, she doubled down on her efforts until Jan was shaking and trembling from her orgasm.

“Oh my… Holy… _Fuck_ …” Jan’s head was spinning and she couldn’t think or see straight. She probably couldn’t have remembered her name if asked. Her body was so heightened and sensitive, she thought she might come again just from moving too much or too fast. 

“That’s about the reaction I hoped for,” Nicky hummed, unable to hide her cocky smirk. “You look so beautiful like this, like you’re glowing,” she observed, leaning down and kissing her forehead. 

Jan hummed happily, melting into the bed. “Gimme a sec… I wanna take care of you too.”

Nicky cocked a brow. “Are you sure you’re up for it? I think I saw your soul leave your body for a minute,” she teased. 

“Uh huh,” she pushed herself to sit up once her breathing had evened out. “Please, Nicky,” she purred, pressing kisses up her shoulder and neck. “I’ve waited so long, I need to taste you.”

Nicky felt a chill go up her spine and a throbbing between her thighs. “ _Putain d’enfer_ …” she muttered under her breath. “How could I say no to that?” 

“You can’t, duh,” Jan grinned triumphantly and waited for Nicky to lay on her back before she moved down and pushed her thighs apart.

“Mm, of course not,” she let out a content sigh that turned into a moan once she felt Jan’s tongue enter her. “Fuck, that’s it baby,” she praised, tangling her fingers through Jan’s hair. 

Jan basked in the praise, using it to motivate her. Her tongue swirled and thrusted with an eagerness she just couldn’t contain. She added one finger, then another, working them in tandem while her free hand wandered the expanse of Nicky’s body, admiring how soft and smooth her skin felt under her fingertips. 

Unlike Jan, Nicky wasn’t especially vocal in bed. Her grunts and moans and words of praise were soft, but filled with passion. Her hips rocked faster and her breathing got heavier as she reached her peak, and let out a sharp cry of pleasure as she came. “Fuck,” she panted, “I’m glad I listened to you.” 

Jan smiled and moved to lay beside Nicky, kissing her sweetly. “As you should be.” 

Nicky wrapped her arms around Jan and pulled her close. “Coming here was the best decision I’ve ever made. Not just because of the sex, I just can’t imagine being an ocean away from you ever again.” 

“And now you never have to be. Having you here is even better than I imagined.” She let out a content sigh as she cuddled up to her new girlfriend, and they laid in comfortable silence for a good few moments. “I should probably text Crystal and let her know it’s safe to come back. Though she and Gigi are probably fucking in a sauna right now.” 

“Go ahead,” Nicky handed Jan her phone. “Do we have to get dressed? I really don’t wanna move.”

Jan shook her head as she texted Crystal. “Nah, they’re chill like that. Also, full disclosure, Crystal and I did hook up once, but it was a totally platonic one-time thing,” she assured.

Nicky giggled softly. “You would fit in so well in France,” she mused as the two of them got under the covers and tangled up in each other, going from separated by a body of water to completely inseparable in the span of one night. 

“Are you guys decent?” Gigi asked as she and Crystal re-entered the room. They both smirked when they saw Jan and Nicky cozied up under the covers. “I’ll take that as a ‘no’.” 

Jan rolled onto her side. “Not at all,” she chuckled.

“You guys have fun?” Crystal asked, she and Gigi sitting down on the other bed.

“To say the least,” Jan reached back and held Nicky’s hand. “We’re in love, by the way.”

Gigi and Crystal looked at each other, exchanging surprised looks, though the confusion faded the more they thought about it. “I guess with the way you’ve been talking about her all this time, it isn’t _that_ much of a shock,” Gigi concluded.

“I also know you guys are not in an actual engagement,” Nicky chimed in, propping her chin up on Jan’s shoulder. “I knew before I got here, but Jan told me on her own. No hard feelings, it’s just clear that the three of you have one brain cell to share,” she added with a laugh.

“Did she tell you that she and Crystal fucked?” Gigi asked. Although she wasn’t bothered by it, it had still caught her off guard and lingered in her mind. But she and Crystal had talked it out on their way to the spa, and there was no bad blood between any of them.

Nicky was unphased by the question. “Yeah, we wanted to have a clean plate, so we talked about everything.”

“Slate,” Jan clarified. “But more importantly, Nicky’s moving to New York! She got a contract with a _really_ good modeling agency, so she’s gonna live with us.” 

“Wow, you guys had an eventful couple hours,” Crystal remarked with a laugh. “So, we’re gonna have two couples living in one apartment, huh?”

Gigi looked over at Crystal, her heart skipping a beat. “Two?”

“Of course two,” she replied without missing a beat. “I want you to move in with me too, Geege. You practically live with us already.” She wrapped her arm around her, pressing a kiss to her temple. 

“Aw, you guys! Tonight brought all of us together, I’m so happy, I could cry.” Jan did feel her eyes get a bit watery as she spoke, quickly wiping them with the back of her hand. She never thought this would be how the night would go, but there wasn’t a thing in the world that would’ve made it better.

### 

It has been a week since graduation night, and Gigi and Nicky have finally settled into the apartment, save for a few unpacked boxes tucked into corners or hidden under beds. Even though they now doubled the occupancy, the flow was natural and the adjustment was immediate. The four of them had become sort of a weird little family.

“I can’t believe I’m going for my first test shoot with the agency,” Nicky breathed out, her voice tense with nerves. 

Jan cupped Nicky’s face and rested their foreheads together. “Hey, you listen to me. They picked you for a reason. You are gorgeous and talented and before you know it, companies are gonna be fighting over who gets to hire you first. And then I’m gonna brag to everyone I know that my girlfriend is a model and they’re all gonna be super jealous.” 

Nicky smiled, her body unclenching. It was hard for her to be stressed around Jan – it had always been that way, through texts, over Skype, she just had that effect on her. “Okay, I guess I can’t argue with that.” She pecked her lips and pulled her bag onto her shoulder. “I’ll be back for dinner, love you.” 

Gigi and Crystal were watching them from the kitchen, still in their pajamas with coffee mugs in their hands. “I don’t think I’ll ever not find it crazy that they worked out so well, and so easily,” Gigi remarked between sips. 

“Guess there’s something to be said about true love, as corny as it is,” Crystal mused, then looked at Gigi, biting down on her lip for a moment. “Right?” 

Gigi’s cheeks dusted pink. They hadn’t said ‘I love you’ to each other yet, their relationship was still new, even if their feelings weren’t. This was the closest either of them had gotten to the phrase, and she wasn’t ready to get emotional this early in the morning. “Right,” she managed to get out in an even tone, resting her head on Crystal’s shoulder. 

This was a new chapter for both couples, one that was drastically different from any before. But the change was welcome, maybe it was necessary. None of them were the same people they had been two months ago, nor would they ever want to go back. And in the end, they could all look back and laugh at the fact that this was all because of a crazy little plan that should’ve been destined for failure, but ended up being their greatest success.


End file.
